Doctor Who

Four episodes in, and the ninth Doctor has shown us the present, the future and, last week, the past. In this instalment, we return to present day Earth, and the Doctor’s companion Rose is taken home. Read more

Gerry Anderson’s New Captain Scarlet

It seems as though former puppetmaster Gerry Anderson has had his new hi-tech version of Captain Scarlet in development ever since the original series finished its original run. Read more

Look Around You

Tucked away in the BBC2 schedules in a 10-minute slot back in 2002, Look Around You was considered by many to be a little gem of a show from writer-producers Peter Serafinowicz and Robert Popper. Read more

2004

A hefty dose of press coverage levelling the charge that British television had slumped into crisis saw out 2004, with frenzied headlines, thick black borders and doom-laden think pieces a-plenty. But had things really become that bad? Had we been wrong to enjoy most of what we watched on telly the past 12 months? Read more

Little Britain

Like The League of Gentlemen before it, Little Britain has managed to become the nation’s latest must-see comedy show. Following a rapturous reception for the first run last year, the programme has enjoyed two three-CD releases, a script book and a superb DVD set. Read more

Steel River Blues

At the start of this Teesside-set successor to London’s Burning, a car thief posing as a hitchhiker says to new fire station chief Bill McGlinchy: “Do I sound like a Geordie?” when Bill asks if he is. Bill shrugs and the scene continues. Read more

Island at War

Due to its beneficial tax breaks for filmmakers, the Isle of Man is being seen more and more on our screens of late. Island at War is the latest big-budget drama series to take advantage of the financial benefits offered by this location. Read more

55 Degrees North

Comparisons with Spender are perhaps inevitable for 55 Degrees North, with both series featuring detectives who have moved north following problems with their jobs in London and finding themselves working under a surly new boss and alongside indifferent colleagues. Read more

When Hitler Invaded Britain

23 years after he hung up Kessler’s jackboots for good, the magnificent Clifford Rose returned to the role of a German World War II officer in this odd contribution to the current vogue for all things war from ITV1. Read more

Bodies

“I’ve been here long enough to know that it’s best not to say anything,” remarks one character during the course of Jed Mercurio’s new medical series Bodies. Read more

England Expects

It seems more than a coincidence that this two-hour drama suddenly appeared on our screens just as a new round of immigration and asylum issues are currently making the news. Read more

Hustle

After seeing the first episode of Hustle, it would come as no surprise to see some enterprising crook super-glued to a cash dispenser at his or her local bank, desperate to escape before the police arrive on the scene. Read more

Sea of Souls

Lazily, and perhaps rather predictably labelled in certain quarters as Britain’s answer to The X Files, Sea of Souls seems in fact much more like one of those spooky old anthology series that Britain used to do so well in days gone by. Read more

Revolver

Upon hearing of the premise behind this BBC Scotland-produced comedy show it did seem as though somebody in the programme-planning department might have been having a joke with a colleague. Read more

2003

On 21 April 2003, 16.7 million people tuned in to watch the makers of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire spend a couple of hours of primetime television outlining their role in one of the most notorious instances of rigging a quiz show in recent memory. Read more

When Michael Portillo Became a Single Mum

Whereas not so long ago it was the docusoap that reigned supreme in the television schedules, now it seems to be a new sub-genre, featuring people who find themselves in an environment they are unaccustomed to. Read more

Little Britain

At last! BBC3 finally presents its miniscule audience with a programme that’s worth watching. Read more

Dead Ringers

Somehow, this show still seems to work best on the radio… Read more

Comedy Connections

In contrast to the recent abysmal chop-suey of “favourite clips” and the vapid wittering-on of Dawn French that was The Sitcom Story, BBC1 continues its Monday night post-news comedy slot with the rather better Comedy Connections. Read more

Spooks

“One day England will become the House of Islam …” Read more

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